Trade minister Ryosei Akazawa and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao had a brief chat on Friday, the first ministerial-level exchange of words between the two nations since a diplomatic standoff started in November.<\/p>\n
Akazawa said he approached Wang at a dinner of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation\u2019s trade chiefs in Suzhou, China. He declined to say what they discussed when he spoke to reporters on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the official dinner, as I began walking toward the main table, Minister Wang was sitting there alone,\u201d Akazawa said. \u201cI approached him and had a brief conversation with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The informal talk would be the first ministerial-level, face-to-face interaction between the two nations since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi\u2019s remarks over Taiwan infuriated Beijing, according to Japan\u2019s Foreign Ministry. In November, Takaichi suggested that Japan could hypothetically deploy its military if China used force to try to seize Taiwan.<\/p>\n
Akazawa said he didn\u2019t have a chance to interact with his Taiwanese counterpart at the APEC gathering.<\/p>\n
Vice Foreign Minister Iwao Horii said he also had a brief talk with Wang following the dinner on Friday. He said he raised the issue of a recent knife attack in Shanghai that injured two Japanese citizens, and asked Beijing to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals in China. The conversation took place on a cruise ship following the dinner, Horii said.<\/p>\n
A Chinese official who is familiar with the matter and asked for anonymity to discuss confidential issues denied any such chats took place between Wang and either Akazawa and Horii.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s Commerce Ministry didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment on the Japanese officials\u2019 chats with Wang.<\/p>\n